A new poll shows that Idaho is the fastest growing state, but Gem State residents generally don't like that growth or the sprawl that accompanies it.
Idaho's population has doubled since 1990. It’s now at almost two million and is expected to increase by another 800,000 by 2060.
The state also lost a million acres of agricultural land to urban growth between 1982 and 2017.
Jeremy Beck from Numbers USA, the non-partisan organization that commissioned the poll, says two-thirds of Idaho residents surveyed have a negative view of their state’s population increasing at the current rate. It also found nearly half believe too much open land has been developed into housing or roads.
“56% say Idaho should restrict development and make it more difficult for people to move to Idaho from other states. 27% say they wouldn't be in favor of restricting development," he said.
"52% say they'd be in favor of limiting hookup to sewer lines and treatment plants as a tool to manage growth, 26% say no.”
The poll also found that the three sole source aquifers in the state, one of them the Rathdrum Prairie aquifer, are considered to be very important by four-fifths of those questioned.